29 nominees for economic awards named

URBANA — Twenty-nine people and organizations have been nominated for nine awards to be given at the annual Innovation Celebration on Thursday evening.

A 10th award, Parkland College's new Innovation in Engagement Award, will also be presented that night.

The awards ceremony, which highlights entrepreneurial work and economic development in Champaign County, is scheduled for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the atrium and auditorium of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, 405 N. Mathews Ave., U.

Also that evening, Parkland College will also present a new award for Innovation in Engagement.

Lori Gold Patterson of Pixo will be the guest speaker at Innovation Celebration. Phyllis Wise, chancellor of the UI's Urbana-Champaign campus, will welcome guests, and Laura Frerichs, director of the UI Research Park, will serve as emcee.

The event is sponsored by the Champaign County Economic Development Corp., the UI Technology Entrepreneur Center, the UI Research Park, the UI Office of Technology Management, the UI Office of Corporate Relations and the UI Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership, along with Parkland College, Singleton Law Firm, IllinoisVentures, Fox/Atkins Development, Serra Ventures and Hanson Financial.